Biden Calls Kim Jong-un a "Bulldozer," Trump Says "My Friend"... Korea Tensions 10 Days Before US Election

Trump "Good Relationship with Kim Jong-un... I Prevented War"
Top-Down, All-at-Once Nuclear Negotiations Expected to Resume if Re-Elected
Biden Criticizes Trump's North Korea Policy but Leaves Room
"If North Korea Reduces Nuclear Capability, Meeting Kim Jong-un Possible"

Donald Trump (left), President of the United States, and Joe Biden, Democratic presidential candidate, engage in a debate during the final presidential candidate TV debate held on the 22nd (local time) at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

With the U.S. presidential election to choose the leader for the next four years just ten days away on the 24th (local time), attention is focused on how the new U.S. administration will impact the Korean Peninsula.

Republican President Donald Trump, seeking re-election, and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden, who secured the nomination after three attempts, hold contrasting positions on North Korea. As a result, North Korea policy is expected to take a completely different tone depending on who wins.

The stark differences in the two candidates' North Korea stances were clearly revealed during the final TV debate before the election on the 22nd (local time). President Trump, who once called North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un "Rocket Man" but now refers to him as "my friend" after several meetings and exchanges of letters, claimed, "I maintained a good relationship with Chairman Kim Jong-un and thereby prevented a war that could have sacrificed millions."

When asked about North Korea's continued nuclear development, President Trump argued that thanks to his good relationship with Kim Jong-un, there was no war, and he even claimed that he improved the North Korea issue, which the previous Barack Obama administration had left in disarray.

President Trump said, "They (the Obama administration) left me a mess. North Korea was a mess." He also emphasized, "It would have been a nuclear war, and he (Chairman Kim) has many nuclear capabilities," stressing that if war had broken out, millions would have lost their lives.

On the other hand, Biden said he could meet with Chairman Kim on the condition of "agreement to reduce nuclear capabilities," but fundamentally expressed distrust toward Trump’s North Korea policy and North Korea itself. Biden criticized Trump for legitimizing North Korea through summits with Kim Jong-un. He even referred to Kim as a "thug" and did not hesitate to use harsh expressions, comparing him to Adolf Hitler, who invaded Europe.

When asked during the TV debate if there were conditions to meet with Chairman Kim, Biden responded, "On the condition that he agrees to reduce nuclear capabilities," emphasizing the need for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. While highlighting the difference from Trump’s North Korea diplomacy, he suggested that if a significant level of denuclearization could be achieved, a North Korea-U.S. summit might still be possible under a Biden administration.

However, during the debate, Biden focused on criticizing Trump’s North Korea diplomacy and referred to Chairman Kim as a "thug" three times. He pointed out the reality that North Korea’s threat to the U.S. mainland has increased during Trump’s term, saying, "They (North Korea) now possess missiles with greater capabilities that can reach U.S. territory more easily than ever."

Against this backdrop, there is an expectation that if President Trump is re-elected, top-down, comprehensive nuclear negotiations will resume. Conversely, concerns have been raised that if Biden wins, a variation of the Obama administration’s "strategic patience" policy might lead North Korea to provoke. However, Brian McKeon, a foreign policy advisor to Biden, recently stated in a media interview that while preliminary working-level talks are necessary, "I am not saying Biden will never meet Kim Jong-un." He also drew a line against a simple return to "strategic patience," saying, "Biden is not Obama."

Currently, polls indicate that Biden is the frontrunner. According to RealClearPolitics (RCP), which aggregated various polls from the 8th to the 22nd, Biden holds 50.7% support nationwide, leading President Trump’s 42.8% by 7.9 percentage points. Although the gap has narrowed from 10.3 points on the 11th, Biden’s lead remains steady.

Lee Soo-seok, senior research fellow at the National Security Strategy Institute, suggested, "South Korea should first consider the possibility of Biden’s victory and strengthen communication with Democratic Party figures to establish dialogue channels with the Democrats." He added, "It is necessary to prepare a roadmap on North Korea’s nuclear issue, improvement of North Korea-U.S. relations, and South Korea-U.S. relations, and present it to the next U.S. administration." Furthermore, he emphasized, "Efforts should be made to ensure that North Korea issues are prioritized on the agenda of the next U.S. government."